Investigators Seek Link Between Texas Car Chase, Colorado Shooting

Earlier this week, we told you about the head of Colorado's Department of Corrections who was shot and killed after answering the front door of his home.

On Thursday, a Colorado parolee who may be linked to Tom Clements' killing led Texas deputies on a high-speed car chase that ended only when he crashed into a semitrailer, opened fire and was subsequently shot down.

"Evan Spencer Ebel, 28, was driving a Cadillac in Texas that matched the description of the vehicle seen leaving the neighborhood where prisons chief Tom Clements was shot. Ebel was hooked up to equipment for organ harvesting, and authorities say he is not expected to survive."

The Denver Post quoted unnamed federal and state officials saying that Ebel was a member of a white supremacist prison gang. The newspaper said Colorado corrections officers are investigating whether Ebel, who was paroled at the time of Clements' shooting, was ordered by his gang to do a hit.

Here's more from the paper:

"Ebel led Texas authorities on a wild chase and shootout on Thursday and is now the focus of the investigation into the shooting death of Clements and a Denver pizza delivery driver.

"Ebel has a criminal record dating back to 2003 including convictions for robbery, menacing and weapons charges. In 2006 he was charged with assault on a correctional officer.

"Ebel was identified as the driver of a black, four-door Cadillac with Colorado license plates that was speeding south in Texas on Thursday."

As Eyder reported on Wednesday, news of Clements' killing shocked officials in Colorado.